Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on Latin American history, culture, and contemporary affairs. You can minor in Latin American Studies or earn a M. A. in History with a Latin American and Caribbean concentration.

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Spanish Requirements

The major has two tracks: Hispanic Studies, emphasizing language, literature, and culture and preparing students for a variety of careers as well as graduate and professional programs, and Spanish Education, preparing students specifically to teach Spanish at the primary and secondary levels.

All students in the College of Liberal Arts are required to earn an 18-hour minor in addition to the coursework for your major. Spanish Education majors must minor in Education, but their major program is otherwise quite similar to that of the Hispanic Studies major.

Requirements for entrance to the major are those of the University. A higher GPA, or higher test scores are not needed. Study abroad, special projects, and service learning opportunities are available and encouraged, but not required.

To graduate without repeating coursework, all majors must earn at least a C in each course in the major. Spanish Education majors must earn at least a C in each course in the minor as well, and must maintain an overall GPA of 2.5.

Course Requirements for All Spanish Majors

The courses in the basic language sequence, Spanish 101, 102, 201, and 202, satisfy the College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement but are not part of the degree program. These courses are not open to native speakers of Spanish, whereas the degree program is.

Spanish 101 and 102 do not count toward graduation, but Spanish 201 and 202 fulfill the language requirement in the College of Liberal Arts.

Beyond the core courses, majors take seven electives at the 300 or 400 level.

Of these, one must be either 410 (Advanced Composition) or 420 (History of the Spanish Language).

Two must be historical surveys of Spanish and Spanish American literature (431, 432, 441, and 442), and one must be a 400 (G) level course (451, 455, 462, 480, 491, or 492).

Three are free electives in Spanish at the 300-level or above.

Outside the major, we require History 352 (Latin America since 1824).

The College of Liberal Arts requires an additional course in History in addition to HIST 352. Many of our students enjoy History 351 (Latin America to 1824) and other courses in History and the interdisciplinary Humanities program on Latin America, Spain, the Mediterranean world, and Africa.

The University requirement in Literature is normally taken in the English department, but can be taken in any program that teaches literature. In both English and Humanities there are courses on US Latino literature, Latin American literature in English translation, and comparative courses that cover works from the Hispanic World.

The College of Liberal Arts also requires two courses in Behavioral Science. Courses popular with our students include:

Additional Requirements for Spanish Education Majors

EDCI 463 or Spanish 463 is required. It replaces one of the free electives at the 300/400 level.

The minor must be in Education.

Students must receive a C or better in all courses in the major and minor, and maintain a 2.5 grade point average overall.

Electives & Options for All Majors

Other electives popular with our students include:

specialized courses in the history of Latin America and the Mediterranean world;

courses in a variety of departments on African-American and Native American history and culture;

courses in cinema and art;

courses in Linguistics offered by the English the department; and

interdisciplinary Humanities and Honors courses.

Popular double majors at UL Lafayette include Spanish and English, Spanish and Psychology, and Spanish and Criminal Justice. Some students also undertake dual degrees, graduating with a B.A. in Spanish and a B.S. in a contrasting field such as Accounting.